Vice

ABSTRACT

A vice having a movable jaw movable by a fluid-operated jack in which the piston rod of the jack moves a rack guided in the fixed part of the vice and connected through reduction gearing to a rack fixed to the movable jaw in arrangement such that one of the pinions of such gearing is disengageable to permit free movement of the movable jaw, such pinion being disengageable by a slidable spindle having a manually operable operating knob and preferably such that rotation of such spindle rotates the pinion with which it engages to effect manual movement of the movable jaw.

United States Patent i191 [111 3,827,684 .lacquet 1 Aug. 6, 1974 [54] VICE 2,328,061 8/1943 Curtis 269/32 2,772,578 12/1956 Kling 74/625 [76] lnvenmrgg ifggsgggy gfg ci 2,887,903 5/1959 Heyer; 74/625 France I Primary Examiner-Roy Lake [22] Filed: Feb. 21, 1973 Assistant Examiner-Nei1 Abrams [2]] App] No 334 249 Attorney, Agent, or FirmWenderoth, Lind & Ponack 57 ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar 2 1972 France 72 0715s A vice having a movable aw movable by a flUldoperated jack in which the piston rod of the jack moves a rack guided in the fixed part of the vice and [52] US Cl 269/32,27649//622257, 226699//222815, connected through reduction g g to a rack fixed [5]] 1m Cl B25b 1/18 to the movable jaw in arrangement such that one of [58] Field of Search 269/32, 88, 221, 227, 285; 74/30, 31, 625

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 340,615 4/1886 Prentice H 74/625 X 589,864 9/1897 Sergeant 74/625 X 1,259,045 3/1918 Proske et a1. 269/32 the pinions of such gearing is disengageable to permit free movement of the movable jaw, such pinion being disengageable by a slidable spindle having a manually operable operating knob and preferably such that rotation of such spindle rotates the pinion with which it engages to effect manual movement of the movable aw.

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BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Fluid operated vices, which have a piston directly thrusting on the movable jaw of the vice, are already known.

The disadvantage of these vices is that, when the separation of its jaws to receive the workpiece to be held in the vice is greater than the stroke of the piston, it is necessary to resort to manual displacement of the opposite jaw, which reduces the rigidity of the vice, increases the space requirement and ensures only very relative precision for a tightening force, which is re duced in effect.

Thus, for example, US. Pat. No. 2,328,061 describes a vice having one jaw fixed to its base by bolts and one movable jaw to which is fixed a rack meshing with a pinion mounted on a shaft carrying a second larger pinion which meshes with a second rack fixed to the piston rod of a hydraulic jack.

In such a vice, if the thrust force of the jack increases, it does so in actual fact only in a limited way, and the movable jaw is displaced in the direction of closing the vice in the opposite direction to the displacement of the piston of the jack. Such a vice presents space requirement problems which limits its field of application or else the pinion revolves about a vertical axis without it being able to be disengaged.

Likewise, there is known through US. Pat. No. 2,289,051 a vice with manual operation in which are provided means for rapidly drawing together or separating the fixed jaw and the movable jaw. In this patent, however, separation of the jaws cannot be instantaneous, but necessitates the uncoupling from a manually operated driving rack of a loose toothed pinion meshing with a rack connected to the movable jaw.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to vices with fluid operated tightening.

An object of the invention is to provide a fluid pressure operated vice free of the disadvantages of known vices referred to above, and in particular the object is to provide a vice with pneumatic control which, although compact ensures considerable increase in the thrust force of the jack which operates it, and the jaws of which, before and after tightening onto a workpiece, can be rapidly drawn together and separated from one another, whilst avoiding shock on the workpiece.

The vice according to the present invention, has its movable jaw controlled by the piston of a pneumatic or other fluid operated jack, and its base which is fast with the fixed jaw forms a guide for a movable rack operated by the piston of the jack and cooperating through reduction gearing or a gear train with a rack which is fast with the movable jaw of the vice, the reduction gearing having a disengageable toothed wheel.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the disengageable toothed wheel is the first pinion of the reduction gearing.

For the operation of the vice, it is advantageous that the disengageable toothed wheel is displaceable by a ring carried by a slidable spindle. Such spindle may be provided with teeth, meshing with a toothed wheel coaxial and fixed to the disengageable toothed wheel. The slidable spindle is advantageously provided with a milled knob which is operable by hand to rotate the spindle to effect manual movement of the movable jaw for the purpose of regulating the space between the fixed jaw and the movable jaw of the vice.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the reduction gearing comprises at least two coupled toothed wheels mounted on shafts at right angles to the axis of displacement of the movable jaw of the vice, such shafts being mounted in bearings carried by two parallel retaining plates.

In a preferred embodiment of the vice, the movable rack is slidable in a guideway provided in the base of the vice, and is secured to the end of the piston rod of the operating jack by a pin connection.

Other'characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows with regard to the accompanying drawings, which represent diagrammatically and simply by way of example, two embodiments of a vice in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal cross-section taken along the line I I in FIG. 2, of one embodiment of vice of the present inventron,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vice of FIG. 1 with parts shown in section along the line II II of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view, similar to that of FIG. 1, partly in elevation and partly in section along the line III III of FIG. 4, of another embodiment of vice of the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a plan view, partly in section similarly to FIG. 2 of the embodiment of the vice illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view taken along the line V V of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the gear mechanism of the vice of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION The vice according to the invention has a base 1, advantageously provided with slots 2 (FIG. 2) to facilitate its fixing as by bolts to an appropriate support (not shown).

On the base 1 there is provided a fixed jaw 3, intended to cooperate with a movable jaw 4 displaceable by a fluid operated jack 5.

Within the base 1, is guidance for a movable rack 7, the teeth of which mesh with a toothed wheel 8 of a gear train means such as reduction gearing. Gear wheel 8 is disengageable from rack 7 by means of a spindle 9, provided with a milled knob 10, as hereinafter described.

This spindle 9 slides in a guide ring 11, threaded on its outside and screwed into the side plate 12. Between the plate 12 and a second opposite side plate 13, there is mounted the gear train intended to ensure an increase in the thrust force exerted by the jack 5 on the movable jaw 4.

This reduction gear can comprise one or more pairs of coupled toothed wheels, for example, the two pairs of coupled toothed wheels 8 and 8' and 14 and 14 in FIG. 1.

The movable jaw 4 has secured to it a rack 15 with its teeth, opposed to those of the rack 7, meshing with the last toothed wheel of the reduction gearing, i.e., the gear 14 in the example of FIG. 1.

The toothed wheels 8, 8 and 14, 14 are mounted on two parallel shafts l6 and 17, transverse to the axis of tightening movement of the jaws, which shafts are supported by pairs of bearings l8, l8 and 19, 19 secured to the plates 13 and 12, respectively.

At its end the piston rod of the jack is secured to the end of the movable rack 7 by means of a connecting element 20 penetrated by a pin 21.

The cylinder of the jack 5 comprises a rear closure plate 22, square in shape and nested by means of an annular groove on a cylindrical casing 23, inserted in its turn into a corresponding annular groove made in a front plate 24. This plate 24 is provided with cylindrical reinforcing bosses 25 through which passes the piston rod of the operating jack 5 with interposition of fluidtight seals 26. The external boss has an external thread for receipt of a fixing nut 27.

A spacer 28, retained in place by a locking pin, serves to retain the pinion 8 in position on the shaft 16 which also carries the pinion 8.

The rear plate 22 carries on its inner surface, in the axis of displacement of the piston rod of the jack, a block 29 of shock and sound absorbing material, intended to absorb, and above all silence the recoil of the piston rod of the jack. Thus a nut 6 on the end of the piston can contact such block 29.

As far as the reduction gear is concerned, different transmission ratios can be selected for the wheels.

In the embodiment described, the ratios of reduction are provided by the number of teeth on the toothed wheels, that is to say:

wheel 8 30 teeth wheel 14 15 teeth wheel 8 14 teeth wheel 14 28 teeth The milled knob 10, which is fixed to the spindle 9, permits disengagement and engagement of the pinion 8 which is free to travel longitudinally along its shaft 16.

The rotation of the aforementioned milled knob facilitates, through provision of teeth of a pinion 30 meshing with a pinion 30 (FIG. 2) fixed to the pinion 8, manual regulation of the opening and closing of the movable jaw over the entire range of movement thereof, when spindle 9 and thus pinion 8 are moved to disengage pinion 8 from rack 7.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6 differs from that which has just been described only in the following details:

The movable jaw 4 (FIGS. 5 and 6) also carries a complementary rack cooperating with a supplementary pinion 14 fixed to the shaft 17 carrying the pinion 14.

The movable rack 7 is displaceable on a bed 31 of rolling needles and is retained in its normal direction of displacement, at the moment of thrust of the piston of the jack 5 connected thereto, by guide elements 32 (FIG. 5) screwed onto the bottom of the gear housing and sliding in lateral grooves in the rack 7.

The disengagement spindle 9, provided with the milled knob 10, is placed directly below the shaft 16 carried by the bearings 18 and 18, which means that whilst in FIGS. 4 and 6 one can see the grooves 33 provided on the shaft 16 for the sliding of the pinion 30 mounted on the same socket 34 as the toothed wheel 8, one cannot, on the other hand, see the teeth of the pinion 30 situated at the end of the spindle 9, to the end of which there is fixed, in each of the two embodiments a ring 35 with its periphery located between the toothed wheels 8 and 30. Thus, as spindle 9 is moved longitudinally, ring 35 acts on either pinion 8 or pinion 30 to cause longitudinal movement of both pinions. Therefore, pinion 8 is moved either into or out of engagement with rack 7. The socket 34 carrying pinions 8 and 30 slides along grooves 33 on shaft 16 (see FIGS. 2 and 5).

It goes without saying that the invention has been described and illustrated by way of example only, and that various detail modifications could be incorporated in the embodiments, without departing from the invention. In particular, the reduction gear could comprise a different number of pinions and it could even be epicyclic in concept.

I claim:

1. A vice comprising:

a movable jaw mounted to move toward and away from said fixed jaw;

a first rack mounted for movement with respect to said fixed jaw;

fluid operated jack means having a piston and a piston rod connected to said first rack for moving said first rack with respect to said fixed jaw;

a second rack fixed to said movable jaw;

gear train means, including a plurality of pinions, mounted for transmitting movement of said first rack into movement of said second rack and thus of said movable jaw;

a first of said plurality of pinions being mounted for movement to and from a first position in meshing engagement with said first rack and a second position out of meshing engagement with said first rack;

a second of said plurality of pinions being mounted in meshing engagement with said second rack; and

slidably mounted spindle means for selectively moving said first pinion between said first and second positions thereof.

2. A vice as claimed in claim 1, wherein said gear train means comprises at least two pairs of coupled pinions, each of said pairs being mounted on a separate shaft extending transverse to the direction of movement of said movable jaw.

3. A vice as claimed in claim 2, wherein a first of said pairs of coupled pinions includes said first pinion, and a second of said pairs of coupled pinions includes said second pinion.

4. A vice as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a third pinion coaxially fixed to and axially spaced from said first pinion.

5. A vice as claimed in claim 4, wherein said first and third pinions are axially movable with respect to the shaft mounting said first pair of coupled pinions.

6. A vice as claimed in claim 5, wherein said spindle means comprises a spindle mounted for sliding movement in a direction parallel to said shafts; a turning knob fixed to one end of said spindle; a ring attached to a second end of said spindle, the periphery of said ring being positioned between said first and third pinions; and a fourth pinion fixed to said spindle and in meshing engagement with said third pinion.

7. A vice as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a supplementary pinion coupled to said second pair of coupled pinions, and a third rack fixed to said movable jaw and in meshing engagement with said supplementary pinion.

8. A vice as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a bed of rolling needles, said first rack being positioned for movement along said bed, said first rack having therein longitudinally extending grooves, and guide elements engaging in said grooves.

9. A vice as claimed in claim 1, wherein said jack means includes a cylinder comprising a rear end plate having a circular groove in its inside face, a cylindrical casing having one end inserted in said groove, a front end plate having a circular groove to receive the other end of said cylindrical casing, said front end plate having inner and outer bosses through which pass said piston rod.

10. A vice as claimed in claim 9, wherein said outer boss is externally threaded, and further comprising a fixing nut threaded on said outer boss.

11. A vice as claimed in claim 9, further comprising stop means formed of shock and sound absorbing material positioned on said inside face of said rear end plate for contact by said piston. 

1. A vice comprising: a fixed jaw; a movable jaw mounted to move toward and away from said fixed jaw; a first rack mounted for movement with respect to said fixed jaw; fluid operated jack means having a piston and a piston rod connected to said first rack for moving said first rack with respect to said fixed jaw; a second rack fixed to said movabLe jaw; gear train means, including a plurality of pinions, mounted for transmitting movement of said first rack into movement of said second rack and thus of said movable jaw; a first of said plurality of pinions being mounted for movement to and from a first position in meshing engagement with said first rack and a second position out of meshing engagement with said first rack; a second of said plurality of pinions being mounted in meshing engagement with said second rack; and slidably mounted spindle means for selectively moving said first pinion between said first and second positions thereof.
 2. A vice as claimed in claim 1, wherein said gear train means comprises at least two pairs of coupled pinions, each of said pairs being mounted on a separate shaft extending transverse to the direction of movement of said movable jaw.
 3. A vice as claimed in claim 2, wherein a first of said pairs of coupled pinions includes said first pinion, and a second of said pairs of coupled pinions includes said second pinion.
 4. A vice as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a third pinion coaxially fixed to and axially spaced from said first pinion.
 5. A vice as claimed in claim 4, wherein said first and third pinions are axially movable with respect to the shaft mounting said first pair of coupled pinions.
 6. A vice as claimed in claim 5, wherein said spindle means comprises a spindle mounted for sliding movement in a direction parallel to said shafts; a turning knob fixed to one end of said spindle; a ring attached to a second end of said spindle, the periphery of said ring being positioned between said first and third pinions; and a fourth pinion fixed to said spindle and in meshing engagement with said third pinion.
 7. A vice as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a supplementary pinion coupled to said second pair of coupled pinions, and a third rack fixed to said movable jaw and in meshing engagement with said supplementary pinion.
 8. A vice as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a bed of rolling needles, said first rack being positioned for movement along said bed, said first rack having therein longitudinally extending grooves, and guide elements engaging in said grooves.
 9. A vice as claimed in claim 1, wherein said jack means includes a cylinder comprising a rear end plate having a circular groove in its inside face, a cylindrical casing having one end inserted in said groove, a front end plate having a circular groove to receive the other end of said cylindrical casing, said front end plate having inner and outer bosses through which pass said piston rod.
 10. A vice as claimed in claim 9, wherein said outer boss is externally threaded, and further comprising a fixing nut threaded on said outer boss.
 11. A vice as claimed in claim 9, further comprising stop means formed of shock and sound absorbing material positioned on said inside face of said rear end plate for contact by said piston. 